Faculty Spotlight: BC’s faculty are just the best!

I want to congratulate three members of our wonderful faculty: Matthew Garrett, Bill Kelley and Oliver Rosales.

Matthew Garrett

At the annual Mormon History Association Conference, associate professor of history Matthew Garrett received the prestigious Juanita Brooks Award for the Best Manuscript in Mormon History for his forthcoming work, titled, Making Lamanites: Mormons, Native Americans, and the Indian Student Placement Program.

It will be published by the University of Utah Press in the fall of 2016.

Bill Kelley

The Teacher of Excellence (TOE) is a peer nominated award for teachers belonging to the California Agriculture Teachers Association. Bill has been a member for 48 years now.

To be eligible for nomination, you must have taught for a minimum of 10 years and have demonstrated professional leadership by serving in four CATA leadership offices. After your name is placed on the ballot, it is taken before a regional group of your peers for voting.

Bill Kelley

Of all the teachers that were nominated, only four are able to represent the San Joaquin region at the state level. Those four must prepare an application regarding their merits. The application gets scored by a panel of twelve teachers who have already received the TOE.

California has about 800 teachers in the CATA and about 15% of those are from the collegiate ranks. Since 85% of the “voters” are high school teachers, it is very rare that a community college teacher is honored in this way. Bill is certainly worthy of the recognition.

Let’s hear from Bill Kelley:

I have spent my entire career and work life (this is my 47th year) as an agriculture teacher trying hard to motivate and help all my students to do their best every day. I have helped a myriad of students in my 47 years of teaching, and I have thoroughly enjoyed doing it. If I could start all over, I would do the same thing. If the good Lord gives me good health, I plan to teach one or maybe 2 more years.

Oliver Rosales

Oliver Rosales, associate professor of history and coordinator of the Social Justice Institute, will be initiating a $10,000 oral history project and public programming “Community Stories’ event series for Bakersfield College later this year. The funding comes from a grant through Cal Humanities.

Oliver was also able to secure a grant from the American Library Association in partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Oliver Rosales

As one of 203 grant recipients selected from across the country, Bakersfield College will receive a cash grant of $10,000 to hold public programming — such as public film screenings, discussion groups, oral history initiatives, local history exhibitions, multi-media projects or performances — about Latino history and culture.

The Bakersfield College Grace Van Dyke Library will also receive the six-part, NEH-supported documentary film “Latino Americans,” created for PBS in 2013 by the WETA public television station. The award-winning series chronicles the history of Latinos in the United States from the 16th century to present day. (Learn more about the series at www.pbs.org/latino-americans/en/.)

With these grants, 2015-16 will be a very exciting year for the humanities at Bakersfield College!